Vehicle buffer



Feb. 26, 1924? v z e. LYON VEHICLE BUFFER Original Filed Oct. 25. 1921 ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 26, 1924.

UNITE SATES 'A ET OFICE.

GEORGE ALBERT LYON, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

VEHICLE BUFFER.

Application filed October 25, 1921, Serial No. 510,294. Renewed October 20, 1923.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE ALBERT LYON, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have made a certain new and usefulInvention Relating to Ve hicle Buffers, of which the following is a specification, taken in connection with accompanying drawing. 1

This inventionrelates especially to buffers or bumpers for automobiles or other vehicles in which the buffer front, which is preferably formed of one or more strips of tempered spring steel or other resilient material, may comprise vertically displaced or separated central contact portions or loops at either end of which the clamping or connecting bolts or other special clamping devices are arranged, one or more of these front'strips or members on each side of the bufler front preferably having lateral vertically displaced retaining portions or, if desired, contact loops'beyond the clamping devices so that the clamping devicesare more securely held in place and-lateral slipping or working. outward thereof is correspondingly prevented. In some cases the vertically displaced or separated contact portions of the bufier front may be formed by one or more separate reinforcing contact members or strips or, if desired, the inwardly extending impact receiving portions of the front strips may overlap or extend across each other sufficiently for this purpose and be vertically bent or displaced as by flattening or widening them locally so as'to form the central or lateral contact portions or loops. In some cases also integral aligning members or interlocking portions or ears may be formed on some of these front strips preferably adjacent their lower edges so that they can more easily be concealed while holding the strips in the desired vertical alignment in connection with the clamping devices or bolts.

In the accompanying drawing showing in a somewhat diagrammatic way various illustrative embodiments of this invention:

Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of one arrangement. 7

Fig. 2 is. an enlarged transverse section thereof taken along the line 2-2, and

Figs. 3 and 4 are front perspective views showing other modified constructions.

The buffer may have any desired or suitable construction and preferably comprises one or more pieces of spring steel strip which may in many cases be advantageously loops and extend across the bufier front to points at or beyond the attaching members, such as 9, 10. These overlapping reinforcing portions of the front strips or members may have several vertically displaced contact portions such as the central contact portions 4, 8 which are bent or arched to such an extent as to leave a substantial opening or loop between their adjacent edges 13, 14. These buffer front strips are preferably connected together adjustably or permanently by suitable bolts or clamping devices such as the special clamping devices 17 which may have the rearwardly extending members 21, 22 co-operating with the oppositely inclined upper and lower edges of these buffer strips and forced against the same by suitable means such as the clamping bolt 19 which may have the conical or sunken head 20 counter sunk in the clamping member which it forces down strongly when the nut 18 is tightened. In this way the front strips may be adjusted throughout a considerable range, if desired, to fit automobile frames of different widths and then securely clamped and held in adjusted position so as to rigidly hold the upper and lower central contact portions and form a vertically wide contact face of the desired extent. cases it is desirable to have the front strips interlacing to the extent indicated, the free end of each strip being passed behind the other strip so that the ends are more concealed; and lateral vertically displaced portions or loops may advantageously be formed on the outside of each clamping-device as, for instance, by vertically bending In many the strips at the points 11, 12 so that lateral openings or loops 25 of greater or less ex tent may thus be formed outside the clamping devices and about in line with the connected attaching members. On 'the other side of the buffer similarly vertically bent or arched portions of the strips 15, 16 may form a similar lateral opening or loop 26 between the vertically extended lateral contact faces of the buffer front impact receiving members. These lateral loops or vertically displaced portions of the strips prevent the clamping devices working outward so that there is correspondingly less danger of these connecting devices working loose and slipping off the buffer front members.

Fig. 3 shows another illustrative arrange ment in which the central loop or opening between the adjacent edges 23, 2a of these vertically displaced central contact portions of thebuffer front strips may be relatively longer and wider in a vertical direction, the clamping members 17' similarly holding the front impact receiving members or strips in the desired adjusted position. These front strips may also be vertically bent or displaced beyond the clamping devices to form 'the bends 29, 30 which may form a contact face of increased width without in all cases forming any opening at the central part where the edge 32 of the front strip overlaps or engages the adjacent edge of the other resilient buffer strip behind the same.

A similar lateral vertically displaced or wide contact portion may be formed outside of the other clamping member where the strips are formed with the bends 11, 28 so as to form edge overlapping portions at 31 which similarly retain the clamping members in position and prevent lateral movement thereof under'running conditions of the vehicle, thesevertically bent strips of course giving more definite engagement on the oppositely engaged edges of the clamping devices than straight strips do, and this is indi cated in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4: shows another illustrative arrangement in which a still widercentral contact portion is formed on the buffer front, the opening 36 between the adjacent edges of the upper and lower buffer front strips 4 and 8 being, if desired, several times the width of the strips which may be two and a quarter to three inches or so wide. These strips adjacent the central part of the buffer may be given a sinuous or wavy form and formed with a series of short edgewise bends such as 33 which are adapted to engage or co-operate with the clamping members 17 since oppositely displaced bends extend beyond the clamping devices and prevent lateral movement thereof. As indicated, the downwardly inclined bends 39 on the front members adjacent thei ends 34, 35 have this action in connection with the upwardly bent portions of the rear strips or buffer front members near the'clamping devices. If desired also this sinuous shape of the buffer front members may be continued outward as at the portions 37, 38 of the front strips preferably gradually dying away before reaching the end loops 3 and7.

This invention has been described in connection with a number of embodiments, forms, proportions, parts, arrangements, materials, methods of connection and use, to the details of which disclosure the invention is not of course to be limited, since what is claimed as new and what is desired to be secured by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

1. The automobilev buffer comprising two spring steel strip members each having a rearwardly extending attaching member, an end loop and an inwardly extending impact receiving buffer front member, said buffer front members overlapping and reinforcing each other adjacent thecentral part of the buffer front and being oppositely vertically displaced to form an apertured vertically wide contact face adjacent the central partof the buffer, enclosing clamping devices having portions extending closely adjacent the edges of said buffer front members on each side of said central contact face and oppositely vertically displaced portions formed in said front members on the outside of said clamping devices to form lateral wide contact faces and to retain said clamping end loop and an inwardly extending impact receiving buffer front member, said buffer front .members overlapping and reinforcing each other adjacent the central part of the buffer front and being oppositelv vertically displaced to form an apertured vertically wide contact face adjacent the central part of the buffer, clamping devices holding together said buffer front members on each side of said central contact face and oppositely vertically displaced portions formed in said front members on the outside of said clamping devices to form lateral wide contact faces and to retain said clamping devices in position on the front strips.

3. The automobile buffer comprising two spring steel strip members each having an end loop and an inwardly extending impact receiving bufler front member, said buffer front members overlapping and reinforcing each other adjacent the central part of tl e buffer front and being oppositely vertically extended to form a vertically wideecontact face adjacent the central part of the buffer, clamping devices holding together said buffer front members on each side of said central contact face and vertically displaced portions formed in said front members on the outside of said clamping devices to form lateral wide contact faces and to retain said clamping devices in position on the front strips.

4. The automobile buffer comprising two spring steel members each having an end loop and an inwardly extending impact re ceiving buffer front member, said buffer front members reinforcing each other adjacent the central part of the buffer front and being oppositely vertically extended to form a vertically Wide contact face adjacent the central part of .the buffer, clamping devices holding together said buffer front members on each side of said central contact, face and vertically displaced portions formed in said front members on the outside of said clamping devices to form lateral Wide contact faces.

5. The automobile buffer comprising a plurality of spring steel strip members having attaching members, end loop members and buffer front members, said buffer front members reinforcing each other adjacent the central part of the buffer front and being oppositely vertically displaced to form an apertured vertically wide contact face adiacent the central part of the buffer, clamping devices holding together a plurality of said buffer front members on each side of said central contact face and vertically displaced portions formed in said front members on the outside of said clamping devices to form lateral Wide contact faces.

6. The automobile buffer comprising a plurality of spring steel strip members having end loop members and buffer front members, said buffer front members reinforcing each other adjacent the central part of the buffer front and being oppositely vertically displaced to form a vertically Wide contact face adjacent the central part of the bufler, clamping devices holding together a plurality of said buffer front members on each side of said central contact face and vertically displaced portions formed in said front members on the outside of said clamping devices to form lateral wide contact faces.

7. The automobile buffer comprising a buffer front formed of several flat spring steel strips oppositely vertically bent adjacent the central part of the buffer front and enclosing clamping devices holding together said strips on each side of said central contact portion and lateral vertically displaced bent portions formed in said strips outside of said clamping devices.

8. The automobile buffer comprising a buffer front formed of several fiat spring steel strips oppositely vertically bent adjacent the central part of the buffer front and clamping devices holding together said strips on each side of said central contact portion and lateral vertically displaced portions formed in said strips outside of said clamping devices.

9. The automobile buffer comprising a buffer front formed of two flat spring steel strips oppositely vertically displaced to form a vertically Wide cont-act face adjacent the central part of the buffer front and clamping devices holding said strips together in laterally adjusted position on each side of said central contact portion andlateral vertically displaced contact portions formed in said strips outside of said clamping devices.

10. The automobile buffer-comprising a buffer front formed of flat spring steel strips oppositely vertically displaced to form a vertically Wide contact faceadjacent'the vertically Wide contact face adjacent the central part of the buffer, enclosing clamping devices having edge clamping portions extending closely adjacent the edges of said buffer front members on each side of said central contact face, a co-operating bolt passing through said edge clamping portions adjacent the rear of said buffer front members to draw said edge clamping members together and vertically displaced portions formed in said front members on the outside of said clamping devices to form lateral side contact faces. 7

12. The automobile buffer comprising a plurality of spring steel strip members havin g end loops and inwardly extending buffer front members, said buffer front members reinforcing each other adjacent the central part of the buffer front and being oppositely vertically displaced to. form a vertically Wide contact face adjacent the central part of the buffer, enclosing clamping devices having edge clamping portions extending closely adjacent the edges of said buffer front members on each side of said contact face, a co-operating bolt passingthrough said edge clamping portions adjacent the rear of said buffer front members to draw said edge clamping members together.

13. The automobile bufler comprising a plurality of spring steel strip members having end loops and inwardly extending buffer front members, said buffer front members reinforcing each other adjacent the central part of the buffer front and being oppositely vertically displaced to form a vertically wide contact face adjacent the central part of the buffer, enclosing clamping devices having edge clamping portions extending adjacent the edges of said buffer front members on each side of said central contact face a co-operating bolt passing adjacent therear of said buffer front members to 10 forced closely against the inclined edges of said buffer front members on each side of said central contact face and vertically displaced portions formed in said front members outside of said clamping devices to retainsaid clamping devices iii-position onthe 15 front strips. r J r 15. The automobile bufier front compris ing a plurality of strip members. overlapping and reinforcing each other adjacent the cen- 5 tral part of the bu-fl'er, enclosing clamping 20 devices having portions extending and forced closely. against the edges of. said buffer front members and I vertically disy placed portions formed in said front memflj bers outside of said clamping devicesto 25 retain said clamping devices in positionon 1 the front strips.

GEORGE ALBERT LYON. 

